European system Galileo helps Brazil space research
To become the world’s leaders in satellite navigation as well as the location and guidance of objects and people throughout the planet—this is the goal of Galileo, the global satellite navigation system designed by Europeans, in operation since last year, which has got developers hoping to send quality in the sector skyrocketing.
What makes the European technology stand out among other systems—like the US GPS, Russia’s Glonass, and China’s Beidou—is that Galileo is free of cost and more accurate in the location of geographic coordinates.
The European Union (EU) has worked with the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB) making the Galileo system available in space studies for the location of points that could not be tracked in Brazil, especially in the Amazon and in the Southern Atlantic, according to João Gomes Cravinho, EU Delegation head.
“With the exception of sending and receiving classified data, which are protected by a cryptography device, Galileo’s features provide a service to all of society,” he said. In addition to encrypted communication, Galileo is offering the police, the fire department, and other security agencies a service aimed at search and rescue.
More accuracy
Cravinho also mentioned the precision of Galileo’s geographic information, proven by numbers. Whereas GPS takes two to four hours to locate an object within a 10-km radius, Galileo takes a mere fifty minutes to do the same job.
“This difference is key, as swiftness often proves decisive when saving someone drifting on a boat in the middle of the ocean, or a child lost in a cavern or wandering in the woods,” said João Cravinho.
Another advantage in the European system, he added, is that “Galileo’s signal is double. In other words, other systems work with just one signal, whereas Galileo can correct location, as it broadcasts another signal, preventing errors in guidance and tracking.”
Investment
Cravinho said that making Galileo free was political decision made by the European Union, which transferred the costs to citizens in all EU member countries, who cover them. Up to now, some $8 billion have been invested on Galileo’s implementation. By 2026, the system will require extra investments adding up to $11 billion.
These funds have enabled the European countries to launch 22 satellites at an average distance of 22 thousand km from Earth. Another eight are expected to be in orbit soon.
Europe is therefore gearing up with top-notch technology to face the challenges of the future—like the implementation of the Internet of Things, connecting everyday objects, including electronic appliances, transport, locks, cameras, etc, to the World Wide Web, “with an efficient navigation system,” the ambassador pointed out.
Galileo will also be key to bringing driverless vehicles into use, a major technological trend for the future.
